Song Qi was practically clutching his beard, his eyes wide. It had only been a few days, so how had this young man already achieved Great Accomplishment in his Stance Skill?
Su Yan's movements seamlessly flowed with his stance. His form and intent were unified. Although he hadn't fully controlled the power yet, it was clearly the Great Accomplishment stage of the Golden Ape Stance Skill. Song Qi had planned to offer advice, but now he realized he had nothing to teach him; he himself was only at Great Accomplishment in his own Qingyang Stance Skill.
"Stop talking nonsense about all knowledge being connected! You're nowhere near that level! What are you trying to teach me?"
Manager Song (Elder Song) stared at him, cold laughter in his voice: "Stop pretending! Your Ape Fist hasn't achieved Great Accomplishment, either, has it?"
Su Yan grinned: "It just so happened to reach Great Accomplishment during the fight with the wild beasts in the mountains."
Manager Song yanked a piece of his beard off, pointed at Su Yan, and stuttered for a moment before giving up. When he recovered, his eyes were piercing: "Impossible! Your black bears and ferocious tigers couldn't have stopped you. Even if you sought out combat, your progress couldn't have been this fast just by brushing up your stance."
Indeed, Su Yan could already fight ferocious tigers before his Stance Skill reached Great Accomplishment. What difference did killing a black bear make? Was a bear really that much fiercer than a tiger?
Su Yan decided not to hide the truth: "I used Red Skin Powder and other supplements to train my stance, and my progress was rapid, but it slowed down right before the breakthrough."
"That's normal. Supplements are effective for breaking through realms, but they sometimes cannot complete the process."
"I remember Manager Yang and you, Elder Song, both said, 'Don't practice the dead stance.'" Su Yan continued: "I had mostly mastered the combination of fist and stance, and my footwork was near-perfect. I realized there must be one more way to practice the living stance that I hadn't tried."
"Your Aptitude..." Manager Song understood. He sighed with emotion: "Yes, there is still one more path to Great Accomplishment: Killing Stance and Live Killing. The martial path is a way to reach the heavens, but it is also an art of killing. If you gain martial skill but don't dare to fight and kill, you've wasted half of your training." Su Yan had figured out that real combat was the final step and had physically acted on it by entering the mountains.
Manager Song recalled his own past: he was thrown into the mountains by his master and chased by a black bear before he gradually understood.
"I was fortunate to kill a Bronze Fox Ape, which led to the breakthrough."
"A Bronze Fox Ape? A First-Order Early Stage Desolate Beast. It is a fierce creature even among those of the same rank in the Desolate Mountain." Manager Song recognized the ape's name just from Su Yan's description.
"A Bronze Fox Ape? That's quite fitting. I found the Blood Vein Flower in the wolf den after I saw it fighting the wolf pack."
"Don't sell the Bronze Fox Ape. Your foundation needs to be solidified after the breakthrough. Eat as much as you can. Take two of the Blood Vein Flowers for yourself; three are enough for me. Have Bai Shan reserve one Blood Ganoderma for me and charge it to my account." Song Qi contemplated the ingredients: "Take half a liang each of Ground Blood Vine, Cinnabar Ganoderma, and Blood Essence Ginger. Brew it with the Bronze Fox Ape's bones and meat, and drink the entire soup. This will temper your skin and allow the medicinal power to accumulate and nurture your tendons and bones, helping you break through to the Tendon-Bone stage faster."
Su Yan memorized the prescription, nodding: "Thank you, Elder Song. I'll send you some of the Bronze Fox Ape's meat tomorrow."
Manager Song chuckled: "Why would I need First-Order Desolate Beast meat? When you become an Inner Door Disciple and reach the Tendon-Bone stage, you'll see how many Desolate Beasts there are in the Desolate Mountain. The main forces of all the major families are gathering there. The true competition is there." Song Qi paused, then added: "There is only one person in your family. Stay here for these few days. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the city to meet some old friends of mine and introduce you. Once you become an Inner Door Disciple of the Golden Ape Martial Academy, you'll be spending time in the city..."
Song Qi was rambling, but his face remained smiling.
"Go and rest now. Call Bai Shan if you need anything."
"Understood." Su Yan agreed and left the courtyard.
"I've lived for decades, and I can't even offer proper guidance to a young man. I've wasted my life." Song Qi frowned, then thought: 'The martial arts of the Hundred Herb Hall are not easy to teach. It seems I must use my reputation and ask a few old friends to teach him some skills. Relying solely on the Golden Ape Martial Academy's techniques will leave him with too many weaknesses.' A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He lost his fight years ago because of a weakness. "Gu Changfeng!"
Mist rose in the morning. Su Yan endured the chill, waking up early to practice his stance in the courtyard. Even though his Stance Skill had achieved Great Accomplishment, the stage of Transcendence still lay ahead.
Two threads of Bug Essence entered his body. Su Yan's body was relaxed, yet his stance technique was fully integrated with his form. Threads of blood energy were constantly refined from his body, like countless tiny streams in the mountains converging into a surging river.
'The Great Accomplishment Stance Skill refines not only more blood energy but also stronger blood energy. The intensity of body tempering is much greater.' Su Yan stood in his stance, sensing that Great Accomplishment was vastly different from Minor Accomplishment. The stronger stance skill not only refined powerful blood energy for tempering but also enhanced his ability to absorb external essence. In the same amount of time, his capacity to absorb and digest medicinal power also increased. With these two aspects supporting each other, the speed of his improvement would be astounding, provided he had enough resources.
Su Yan stood for over an hour, exhausting the two threads of Bug Essence. He exhaled a cloud of stale air and then began practicing the Ape Fist. The eight forms were fluid and effortless, his strikes full of power, as fierce as the Bronze Fox Ape, yet with an added sense of agility.
"Good!" Song Qi was awake. Dressed in a dark robe, he looked energetic and praised Su Yan.
Su Yan finished his practice. Song Qi walked over and said, "Eat something, and then come with me into the city to meet someone." Su Yan nodded, thinking: 'The person the old man wants to see now is likely related to the Blood Vein Flower.'
After they ate, they mounted the fast horses from the shop and rode out of the Mountain Market Town. The Small Mountain Association's lookouts watched, wide-eyed.
"What do we do? That brat is staying with Manager Song! We can't get to him!"
"Go find Master Gu! He needs to deal with this."
The several Small Mountain Association members who had been keeping watch gathered in a street corner. They had watched all night, hoping to catch Su Yan when he left the Hundred Herb Hall and deliver him to Gu Hong. But this result was unexpected.
"Master Gu went into the city last night. How do we find him?" The few men looked at each other, unable to devise a plan. They didn't dare rush the Hundred Herb Hall, even if Song Qi wasn't there. After much deliberation, they decided they could only temporarily retreat. The tension in the Mountain Market Town returned to normal for the time being.
Meanwhile, Su Yan and Song Qi rode quickly. In a short time, they entered Yun Cang Town. Once inside, Song Qi did not head for the Hundred Herb Hall but went to the Cangliu Alley. Cangliu Alley was the area where the wealthy lived. The street was wide, lined with rows of willow trees, their long branches swaying beautifully in the breeze. The entire alley was filled with large, deep courtyards; only the very rich could afford a good property here.
The two rode their horses to the end of the alley, stopping before a large compound. They dismounted and tied the horses to a willow tree. Song Qi strode forward, loudly knocking on the gate.
"Who is it?"
A servant opened the door. Seeing Song Qi, he quickly bowed and apologized: "Master Song, I didn't know it was you. My apologies."
"Move aside!" Song Qi brushed past the servant, leading Su Yan inside: "Take good care of the horses." As he walked, he shouted loudly: "Xu the Second Old Man! I'm back! Come and welcome me!"